The present application is directed to a wheelbarrow for transporting materials and, more particularly, to a wheelbarrow including bolt head depressions that generally prevent supporting bolt heads from extending into a carrying space of the pan. The bolt head depressions also permit a user to scrape materials from the wheelbarrow with a shovel or other scraping implement generally without impacting the supporting bolt heads or other protrusions extending from the carrying surface.
Wheelbarrows are common tools utilized typically in construction, landscaping and consumer material transportation. The wheelbarrow typically includes a pan that is mounted to a support structure having a pair of handles for the user to grasp and manipulate the wheelbarrow. On an opposite end from the handles, one or two wheels are typically mounted to the support structure that a user employs to move the support structure, pan and materials within the pan.
Typical wheelbarrow construction includes mounting the pan to the support structure with one or more bolts with each bolt having a head. The head is typically exposed from a carrying surface of the pan or extends into a carrying area of the pan. The protrusion of the bolt heads into the pan creates an obstacle for a user if the contents of the pan are being scraped from the pan using an edge of a shovel or other scraping implement. Specifically, if a user is scraping material, for example, concrete or mulch, from the pan using a shovel and slides the edge of the shovel into the bolt head, the bolt head, pan, support structure or shovel may be damaged by the impact. Repeated impacts with a shovel or even materials being carried in the pan has an adverse impact on the structural integrity of the wheelbarrow and has the potential to damage valuable tools (e.g. shovel). In addition, the bolts or other fasteners are typically secured to the pan in a planar base portion of the pan where the pan mates with the support structure. If the pan has a gradual, sloping portion at its lower corners, the available fastening area in a generally planar portion of the pan may be limited
It would be advantageous to construct a pan for a wheelbarrow wherein a user is able to scrape contents out of the pan without impacting the head of a bolt that fastens the pan to the support structure or any additional structure that protrudes into the pan carrying space. In addition, it would be advantageous to construct a wheelbarrow pan wherein the fastening bolts or other fasteners are spaced a maximum distance from each other on a generally planar portion of the pan to improve the strength and structural integrity of the mounting of the pan to the support structure.